Holding Out for a Hero
by saichick-Anna-Erishkigal
Summary: Tony & Pepper attend a charity benefit ... with a twist.  Light, fluffy Pepperony.  Based on a dorky dare to write a songfic!


Story: Holding Out for a Hero

Author: saichick

Challenge: Pepperony 100

Theme: 063 Hero

Rating: PG

Timeline: between IM1 and IM2

Preview: _Tony and Pepper attend a charity event with a different twist. Fluffy Pepperony._

"Tony, we're going to be late!" Pepper exclaimed.

"Pepper, remind me," Tony asked, "why are we going to this thing?"

"It's to raise money for the Shriner's Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles," she reminded him. "You know … little kids … cancer … burns … that kind of thing."

"Shriners … aren't those the guys in the funny hats?" he asked, circling his fingers around his head like a tall hat and waddling like a clown.

"Yes, Tony," Pepper said, an exasperated tone to her voice. "They're the guys who wear the funny hats and dress up like clowns."

"I like clowns," Tony said, a big smile suddenly lighting up his face. "Are we going to go see the circus? What do we have to do?"

"It's mostly going to be wealthy patrons of the hospital," Pepper explained, "but some of the child patients will have front row seats. I will introduce you, and then you'll fly in with your Iron Man suit to be the grand finale."

"Do I get to see any clowns?" he asked, his eyes twinkling like a little boy.

"Yes, Tony," she said, "the clowns are going to battle Iron Man. When they pile into their funny little car, you defeat them by chasing them out of the ring."

"Hmmm, clowns..." Tony said, rubbing his goatee between his thumb and forefinger and pretending to think about it. "Might be a little more than Iron Man can handle."

Pepper hit him. Right on the arm. "Go get suited up, Iron Man. You have an important mission." She laughed.

Several hours later, Tony stood watching the Shriners perform their various circus acts from the executive box at the Shrine Center waiting for his cue. Pepper had left a few minutes ago to get into costume. When he had asked her what his cue would be, she was deliberately vague, but one of the Grand Poobahs' (or whatever they called themselves … that's what Fred Flinstone called them) wearing a ridiculous red hat with a gold tassel had been assigned to cue him when to fly in, zoom around the ring twice, and then land to "battle" the clowns. The Poobah pressed a small pyrotechnic firework into each of his hands and informed him 15 seconds after he landed, he was supposed to throw the two fireworks onto the ground and it would set off a larger display that signaled the clowns to run away.

As Pepper had predicted, most of the folks assembled in the audience were rich blue-hairs come to socialize and mingle at a charity event, but around two dozen kids of various ages were seated close to the ring. Even at a distance, he could see some of the patients bore significant scarring from burns or had lost their hair due to chemotherapy. His heart went out to them, although the Machiavellian businessman in him understood the reason they had been invited was to encourage wealthy donors such as himself to be generous.

After the dancing poodles left the stage, the Emcee came back on (what _was _it with those hats, he asked himself?) and announced they would complete the show with a special act. The ring darkened for a couple of moments, than one lone spotlight came back on in the center ring. Standing on a small round wooden stage was … Pepper?

She was dressed in what could only be described as a white gown a Greek goddess would wear, her long red hair arranged on her head like the Venus de Milo. On both arms snaked up brass armbands. The orchestra, which had been mostly playing calliope circus tunes to this point, changed tone as the piano played one lone chord and then paused.

_Where have all the good men gone? And where are all the gods? **_

Pepper sang acapella in a sultry voice, with the piano only playing a chord between each line to emphasize her lonely voice. Was that really Pepper? _His _Pepper? He had no idea Pepper could even sing. Was it lip-synched? No … she was wearing one of those pop-star microphones to amplify her voice. That really _was_ Pepper singing.

_Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?_

Her sultry tone rose to an almost pleading tone for the next line of the song.

_Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?_

She held out her arms as if pleading to heaven for that white knight. Tony glanced at his Poobah (he had already forgotten the man's name or real rank) to see if that was his signal, but the man shook his head "no." Pepper threw her arms around herself for emphasis and shook her head for the next verse.

_Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need_

Her voice warbled to an almost pleading tone as she wrapped her arms around herself momentarily, looking demurely down to her side as she prolonged and faded out the word _need _for several seconds. Man, he thought to himself, Pepper was hot! He'd had no idea she could sing like this. All of a sudden she changed posture as if defying heaven, reaching up to the sky and grabbing a lightning bolt, throwing it down into the ring in front of her as she sang in a strong, loud voice. 

_I need a hero!_

Fireworks exploded in the ring in front of her as several more spotlights lit up spots on the central ring and illuminated … evil clowns? The band kicked back in and played a full orchestral accompaniment of the old Bonnie Tyler song. 

_I'm holding out for at hero 'till the end of the night_

_He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast_

_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light_

_He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon_

_And he's gotta be larger than life,_ _Larger than life..._

The clowns ran around her, waving their arms and wiggling their fingers as if taunting her. A couple of them had squirt guns and squirted in her direction, although none actually hit her. Many of them ran into each other, somersaulting and knocking each other down, and would squirt each other before one of them would point to Pepper and refocus their attention back on their "victim." The audience laughed as Pepper continued to gesture and sing the song as though she were a Grecian maiden tied to a sacrificial stake awaiting the krakken while the clowns pretended to attempt nefarious practical jokes on her. Tony looked at his guide and nudged him.

"Now?" he shouted over the music? He couldn't wait to fly into the ring and rescue his sexy little minx.

"Not yet!" the grand Poobah shook his head and shouted.

_Somewhere after midnight, in my wildest fantasy_

_Somewhere just beyond my reach_ _There's someone reaching back for me_

_Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat_

_It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet_

Pepper turned and stretched her arms towards the executive box as though she were pleading for him to come save her. "Now?" he asked, practically writhing with excitement. He couldn't wait to zoom in and save her! "Not yet," the Grand Poobah said. Tony cracked up laughing as two of the clowns took aim at Pepper with cream pies and threw them, narrowly missing her (as he assumed was intended). Pepper cringed back as though in fear of machine gun fire and once again sang the sexy refrain of the song again as the "evil clowns" chased and writhed around her like … well … evil clowns. 

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night_

_He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast_

_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light_

_He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon_

_And he's gotta be larger than life_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for at hero 'till the the end of the night_

"Now?" he yelled at the grand poobah, eager to get in there and save his beautiful Grecian maiden.

"Not yet!" the grand poobah shouted, putting his hand on Tony's arm to emphasize his point.

Peppers voice changed once again, no longer pleading, but almost triumphant as she reached towards him and sang. 

_Up where the mountains meet the heavens above_

_Out where the lightning splits the sea_

Pepper reached up to the sky as if grabbing another lightning bolt and flung it into the midst of the "evil clowns," fireworks going off to emphasize her point. Boy! Was she hot! Tony zoned out into his own little world as he began to visualize all the interesting things he wished his lovely Grecian maiden would let him do to her once he saved her. 

_I could swear there is someone somewhere, watching me_

_Through the wind and the chill and the rain and the storm and the flood_

_I can feel his approach, like a fire in my blood_

"NOW!" the Poobah shouted at the top of his lungs, nudging Tony hard.

"What?" Tony asked, his mind coming back down to Earth.

"NOW! Go save her!" the poobah said, giving him a shove and pointing down towards Pepper.

Oops … Tony was so engrossed in fantasizing about rescuing Pepper that he'd missed his cue. He immediately blasted off and began his brief pre-arranged double-flight around the ring while the audience went wild. Pepper belted out the final refrains of the song 3times in a row like a siren drawing sailors to the rocks.

I_ need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night_

_He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast_

_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light_

A cream pie whacked him full in the chest as another clown pulled out a garish florescent yellow machine-gun sized squirt gun and squirted him in the face. Tony completed his prearranged flight and plunked down in the clowns midst, noting that Pepper gestured towards him as though pleading for rescue as she kept right on singing. Wham! A full bucket of water and numerous water balloons hit him, washing away the cream pie as the clowns ran at him, but kept stumbling over their own enormous flip-floppy clown shoes. Pepper reached towards him and sang the refrain again. 15 seconds had passed. Tony threw his pyrotechnic onto the ground and the small crackle set off a much larger display of sparks from the outside of the ring. Tony made a movement as though taking on the clowns and they all ran away, piling 9 of them into a tiny clown car no larger than a wheelbarrow. He laughed as the car full of clowns circled the ring one last time and exited. The audience was roaring in laughter.

Pepper was singing the refrain for the third and last time. Using his pulse reactors, Tony flew just far enough off the ground to fly onto the tiny stage with her and landed, flipping up his mask and quickly removing his helmet so he could see her. Pepper was singing her heart out, reaching towards him as part of her act as she sang the last line of the song as he reached towards her.

_I need a hero!_

Grabbing her into his arms waltz style, he bent her backwards into a steep dip and bent over her to kiss her. Pepper was panting from the exertion of putting her heart into her song, although when he bent her back he noticed she began to pant even harder. Heck … he was panting too … and it wasn't from chasing off the evil clowns. Time stood still for a moment as he looked into her deep blue eyes and then at her lovely pink mouth. The audience began to shout "kiss her! Pepper didn't move. The music had stopped.

"Kiss her" the audience shouted again, laughing, and began to stomp their feet in rhythm to their chant as they yelled it again and again. "Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her!"

Pepper began to look around nervously as though this wasn't part of the script she had bargained for, but Tony wasn't about to let her out of it that easily. He'd been waiting for this moment for a long time and he wasn't about to let her escape. Crushing down upon her lips, time stood still as she at first went rigid, than began to respond to his passionate administrations, melting into his suit like butter. The audience cheered as he kissed her, than clapped and cheered some more as he deepened his kiss. He heard a throaty moan escape Peppers lips as she responded to his kiss and wrapped her hands around the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair.

It was the sound of the "evil clowns" beeping the ridiculous little horn on their little clown car that brought them back to reality. The audience was cheering them on and he realized his kiss had gone on for a lot longer than was appropriate for a mere stage kiss.

"Tony," Pepper whispered.

"Mmmmm..." he murmured, looking into her eyes and smiling.

"We're making a spectacle of ourselves," she said.

"Mmmmm..." he acknowledged, "it's for a good cause." He gave her one last quick kiss on the lips before straightening the both of them up, raising his fist into the air like a boxer who had just won a prize fight. The audience cheered.

"And Iron Man saves the day, ladies and gentlemen..." the Emcee stated, coming in with his microphone to make his close-out. "Let's thank Iron Man Tony Stark and his beautiful assistant, Miss Pepper Potts, for providing tonight's grand finale. And now we'd like to remind ..." the Emcee continued, making his pitch for the audience to all be heroes for the kids the Shriners helped and donate generously so they could get better.

"You can let go of me now..." Pepper whispered, obviously thoroughly mortified at their very public kiss by the way her cheeks had flushed to a deep scarlet red, and tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Not on your life," he laughed, gripping her tighter and propelling the unwilling maiden he had just "saved" towards the children seated at the edge of the center ring. "You asked for a hero and now you've got one! Let's go meet the kids!"

*** song "Holding Out for a Hero," by Bonnie Tyler


End file.
